Discovered
by Hailey C. Black
Summary: Edward discovers a fourteen year old Bella. She quickly discovers his secret because she has one of her own. Edward's POV for now. BxE eventually AxJ EmxR CxEs
1. Chapter 1 Happy

_A/N- I rewrote some of this and edited it some more. I'm going through the rest of the chapters and trying to get back to writing. I'd appreciate some more reviews;) Enjoy…_

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**_Discovered_**

_Chapter 1 __Happy_

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"_No _Alice!"

"Please Edward! No one else wants to go with me."

"Then go by yourself Alice! I went with you last time!" _Why can't she just leave me alone to mope?_ I just wanted to stay up here in my room and listen to my music.

_'Edward_,' she yelled at me in her thoughts, '_watch this.'_Alice ran through her memory of the last vision that she'd had earlier this morning.

It started with me walking out of the mall behind Alice. I had a huge smile on my face… I looked _truly_ happy. Alice turned around to me and said 'I told you,' with her smug smile plastered onto her face as we walked back to her car. Then she skipped ahead of me and I turned back towards the mall entrance to wave at someone.

Alice's vision ended and I was stunned for a moment. What was _that_? Why was I smiling? What… who could've possibly made me happy at the mall? I turned my attention back to Alice who was bouncing hopefully on her toes, her eyes pleading.

"Alice. That was extremely strange. What do you think is going to happen?" I couldn't believe I was about to do this, but that was just too… intriguing. "Ok. I will go with you."Alice's vision had piqued my curiosity. I was so tired of this sad, pointless life. I wanted to be happy, and if going to the mall withAlicecould give me that, even for a short time then I would take it.

"Thanks Edward! But if we want what I saw to happen, we should go right now."

"OkAlice. Let me just get my wallet."

Forty minutes later we were stepping out ofAlice's flashy sports car and heading into the mall. I wasn't sure what to do, so I followedAlicefor a while. We walked through the toy store to get to the other side of the mall quicker andAlicewent into a dress store while I waited on a bench outside of it. After she browsed through nearly every dress, she dragged me over to her favorite shoe store.

"Edward, what do you think of these?"

"Umm, those are men's shoesAlice."

"Yes. And I do believe you will need them." She shoved them into my arms and turned me in the direction of the counter.

"Why? I have some perfectly fine shoes at home. You should know- you bought them. And besides, those shoes look like cheap replicas of the ones I already have." I tried to hand them back to her, not understanding why she wanted me to waste money on something so unnecessary.

"Yes, but you need them. So go buy them right now." She the shoes back into my arms and stalked back up the women's shoe isle. I walked over to the cashier, a plain looking woman whose face I knew that I would not be able to recall once I left the store. I put the shoes on the counter, and she smiled timidly at me.

"Will th-this be all?" she stumbled to ask.

"Yes, thank you." I reached for my back pocket and found it empty. I sighed. "Actually, I guess I won't be getting these after all. Sorry, I seem to have lost my wallet."

"Oh. N-no problem." Her thoughts were as nervous as her voice. She was debating whether asking for my phone number would be too embarrassing if I rejected her. I made the decision for her, and walked out of the store.

I figured I'd just have to retrace my path through the mall until I found my wallet seeing as there were too many scents for me to pick out my leather wallet from the rest.

I headed back down the walkway to the bench I had been sitting on whileAlicewas dress shopping, searching the ground around it but there was no wallet. Traveling back to the entrance of the toy store, I searched the ground with no success. I almost gave up when I spotted a small, leather square on the floor about fifteen feet into the toy store. Relieved to be through with my search, I picked up my wallet and turned to head back to the shoe store whereAlicewas perusing the shoe racks.

Before I had taken two steps toward the entrance, I smelled salt water. '_What a peculiar smell to find in a toy store' _I found myself thinking_._ Then I smelled something… else. It was the sweetest smell I'd ever encountered, like ambrosia, and it was calling to me. I hadn't realized I was following the scent until I was in the middle of an isle filled with dolls, with the source of the scent standing in front of me.

I stopped before I brought my nose to her skin. After I gave myself a mental shake, I realized that I was looking into a pair of eyes welling with tears. The girl my nose had delivered me to was crying. I stepped back startled out of my trance.

I looked down at her, studying her. She was wearing a pair of stylish blue jeans and a white t-shirt layered under a bright blue hooded sweatshirt. I noticed the color contrasted greatly with the sweet smelling, pale skin of her neck. She looked to be around thirteen, but I'm hardly one to judge the age of a child. I moved my curious gaze to encompass her face. It was angelic.

Her pale skin was rosy, and her hair was thick, falling beatifically around her face in waves. Her eyes were still a bit puffy and red from her crying, but they were quite beautiful. Her brown eyes seemed to have an unusual depth to them, like jars of tea left to stew in the summer sun. I could plainly see the emotions she was feeling like I was seeing directly into her soul. She was undoubtedly a beautiful child. And then I noticed that she had stopped crying completely as she studied me too.

"Hello. Why are you crying?"

"Am I dead?" She looked startled as the question left her perfect lips.

"Of course not! What would make you think that?" I smiled, shaking my head.

"I just... You look like an... angel." Her porcelain cheeks grew rosier.

"You are calling _me_ an _angel_?" I chuckled at the irony. I tried to hold back my laughter at the absurd conversation.

"Umm. You are so...you just look like an angel. Sorry." She mumbled while looking at her feet and blushing again.

"Don't apologize. I should thank you for such an… interesting compliment. My name is Edward, and sorry to disappoint but I'm no angel." I laughed again. "What is your name, and why is such a lovely girl standing alone in a toy store, crying?"

"My name is Isabella Swan, but my mom and… my dad calls me Bella. Uhm, I'm here because it's my birthday tomorrow and I'm turning thirteen. My dad brought me to help pick out a birthday present; he seems to think I'm still seven, but when I came over here to look at this doll," she pointed to a doll that looked like a porcelain version of Alice, "I lost him and now I've been here for nearly half an hour. I thought he'd come back to where he lost me… it's hard for me to search for him with all the… noise. Will you help me find him?" Bella babbled, speaking fast enough to compete with Alice.

"Sure. I'm sure we could get someone to page your father at the information desk. Are you hungry? We can wait at the food court for him." I suggested.

"Ok." She looked back at the doll once and then she startled me by offering her hand for me to hold. I grabbed it after a second of contemplation.

"Bella, is this doll something that you want for your birthday?" I pointed at the doll she seemed to favor.

"Yeah," she blushed, "it was kind of a tradition for my mom to get one every year for my birthday, but it costs fifty dollars." I grabbed the doll and pulled on the hand she had offered. She looked a little confused but she followed.

I walked to the cashier and paid for the doll as the cashier put it into a shopping bag and then handed it to me. I looked down at Bella and she smiled up at me. Her smile grew when I handed her the bag.

"Happy birthday, Bella, now let's go page your dad."

"Thank you... Edward." she looked down into the bag and then back up at me. I felt light and happy as she smiled at me. I couldn't believe I had made her face light up like that.

We walked over to the information desk at the food court, to a woman sitting behind the desk searching through some papers. I stood at the desk with Bella at my side, gripping my hand tightly with hers. It had tightened further when we arrived at the desk. The woman looked up and her eyes grew wide at the site of me.

"Can I help you?" she asked, finishing it with '_into my bed', _in her head. She licked her lips in what she thought was a suggestive manner. Couldn't this woman tell that I was only fifteen... or at least that's what I was trying to look... maybe I'm not doing such a good job at it. I shook my head and looked pointedly down at Bella.

"Yes. I found this young lady who seems to have lost her father. Can you page him for us?" I had let go of Bella's hand in favor of putting my arm around her shoulders and squeezing her lightly into my side. The woman looked at her and sneered. _Oh great- another sniveling brat to look after. Why can't parents just keep up with their stupid kids?_ This woman was not planning on being nice to Bella when I left.

"Sure. What is your daddy's name?" the woman asked with an obviously false sweetness.

"Charlie Swan." I looked back down at Bella, surprised. _Bella is Charlie Swan's daughter? Why didn't I put this together? I've seen him at the hospital where __Carlisle__ works and now that I was looking for it, Bella definitely looked like his daughter. That means Bella lives in Forks. That's_... interesting_._ Bella was looking at me, and I couldn't be sure, but she seemed to nod her head very slightly. I must have been mistaken.

"Alright, you can leave her here with me and I'll take care of her. We'll make sure she gets back to her daddy." _Snot nosed kid_.

"No! Edward, please don't go!" Bella turned into my side, wrapping her arms around my torso, and hid her face in my shirt. I put my finger under her chin and lifted her face up so I could meet her eyes. Bella looked so innocently gorgeous. I just found her so intriguing, and the thought of leaving her with that look on her face made my stomach twinge horribly, so there wasn't much of a chance of me leaving her at the moment.

"Umm, miss? When he gets here will you let him know that we are sitting over there?" I pointed over at a table in front of one of the restaurants. The woman nodded at me and I tried hard not to read her thoughts.

I picked up Bella's doll and walked Bella over to a table. As we moved to the table we heard the announcement over the loudspeaker, "Charlie Swan. You're daughter is at the information center. Charlie Swan your daughter is at the information center."

"Bella, you can let go now."

"You're not going to leave?" she whimpered._ I couldn't leave her even if I wanted to._

"No Bella, I will wait here with you until your father gets here." Her arms relaxed a little but she still did not let go of me. I moved my chair out so she could sit down on my legs. She let her arms relax and rested her head on my chest. I was a little surprised that I was comfortable holding her in my lap, as normally I kept my distance from humans. Bella was just so different from anyone I had ever come across. Bella was special.

While I was lost in my thoughts, a man came running to the information booth. He asked the annoying woman something and to answer, she pointed at me and Bella. He looked toward us and managed to relax enough to walk to us… barely.

"Bella, your father is here." I whispered to her. She didn't stir but to move her head in her father's direction.

"Oh thank God. I thought I'd lost you this time. I looked everywhere." Charlie said as he stopped at our table. He finally seemed to notice where Bella was seated and his face started to tint a bit red.

"Hi, Daddy. I'd like to introduce you to Edward. He found me in the toy store, panicking, and had the great idea to come down here to page you." Bella said, giving him a look that seemed to calm him down. Charlie sat down across from Bella and I, reluctantly, and put his head in his hands. "Are you ok, Dad?"

"Yes, though I nearly had a heart attack." He wasn't exaggerating. I could hear his heart stressing in his chest. He looked at me and gave me a wary look but decided to placate his daughter and introduce himself to me. "Thanks for helping out my Bella, son. I'm Charlie, and you are?" He asked.

"I know, and I'm Edward Cullen." Charlie raised an eyebrow in question. "I live in Forks, sir." I supplied.

"What'd you say your last name was? How come I haven't seen you around?" He questioned suspiciously.

"It's Cullen, sir, and I was home schooled this year, but next year me and my brothers and sisters are going to go to Forks High. I will be entering the ninth grade." I said while I tried to make myself look as young as I could. I think I blended in well with the crowds of kids that were here hanging out and whiling away this summer, but there wasn't really a way I could hide my explained it away by telling stories of his son's 'rapid growth spurt over the summer' at the hospital before I started school anywhere. It helped us if Alice and I could enter school in the ninth grade, while Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie could barely pull off entering as sophomores.

"Oh you'reCarlisle's kid. Well now I'm glad you found Bella. Anyone could have just scooped her up and carried her off!" Charlie started to get upset again.

"Don't worry Mr. Swan. She stayed in the same place she lost you, so she at least followed all those safety drills we learned in school as kids. Here, you must need to be getting home. Bella told me about her birthday tomorrow and I figure you have a lot to do before then." I said, tapping Bella's side to signal her to stand up. She had been watching Charlie intently for his reaction to me. I think his reaction could have been a bit better if he hadn't come to find his barely teen-aged daughter sitting in some strange boy's lap. I looked at Bella and smiled at her sadly as she blushed, already feeling like I missed her before she'd even left.

As we got up and I grabbed Bella's bag under the table, I suddenly had a crazy idea pop into my head. I didn't want to let Bella go yet, seeing as being near her brought me the sense of calm and content I had been searching all this time for; she was just so sweet and so very interesting. I decided I'd see if I could somehow get one of them to invite me to her birthday party so I would get to see Bella again.

"Here, Bella, don't forget this. I hope you have fun at your birthday party." I smiled charmingly at her. Charlie turned and saw the expensive doll sticking out of the bag.

"Wow! That's a really nice doll. How much did it cost?" Charlie pulled out his wallet, to pay me back.

"No Mr. Swan. It was a present for Bella. I was happy to buy it for her, seeing as she's the first friend I've made in Forks."

"Oh, umm... Okay. What do you say Bella?"

"Will you come to my party?" her face lit up with hope. That made me smile.

"That's not what I meant Bella." Charlie chastised.

"Thank you. But will you?" Bella asked again. "I mean you could meet my friends and get to know some of the kid's you'll be going to school with. Wouldn't that be nice Dad- to introduce him to some kids in Forks?"

"If it's alright with your dad, I would love to." I said, helpfully. Bella turned to her father with a pleading look.

"I'd be really grateful, since I haven't had much of the chance to meet any other kids around town." I directed at Charlie, with my own, more subtle, pleading look. "And my twin sister Alice could come to help set up. She loves parties."

_Oh My God! Is he offering to help? I will have help? Renee was the one who usually handled Bella's birthday parties. Calm down Charlie, you don't want to scare him away._ "Alright Bells. He can come. The party starts at one." Charlie said, while thinking of his gratitude toward me.

"I can come earlier with my sister if you need help setting things up. We don't mind helping out." I didn't want to wait that long to see Bella again. I just want to be near her. For some reason, just being near her gives me the same feeling like when Jasper is leaking his love forAliceall over the place. That is something I have never felt on my own before and I never wanted it to go away.

"Sure, sure. We'll probably be up and getting things ready at ten or eleven. You can come by around then." Charlie was already planning all of the things he was going to have me doing to set up. I didn't care as long as I got to see Bella.

"Ok. I will see you tomorrow then. Bye Bella. I think my dad will be able to tell me where you live." I waved to Bella as I walked toward the waiting just outside the door.

I stepped out and I couldn't help the grin that was plastered on my face. I was so happy and all because I met a human girl. It was all so very unusual. I've met many women before and none have ever sparked my interest, but I meet a beautiful young girl crying in a toy store and I can't keep away.

I suddenly wanted to know what Bella thought of me. I walked along withAliceand reached out with my mind, back to where Bella was with her father. I heard Charlie thinking about the jobs he was saving for me to do tomorrow but I couldn't hear Bella. I turned around to see if Charlie had lost her again but she was standing next to her father waving back to me. She was there, why couldn't I hear her? I waved to her, keeping my smile on my face.

"I told you. Oh, and I'm so excited for tomorrow! You should see the clothes I got Bella. She's going to love them."

"Alice. I can't hear her!" I interrupted her.

"Of course you can't. She's all the way back there."

"No Alice, I mean I can't hear her thoughts." I persisted through her obliviousness.

"Good. At least someone around here will get some privacy." Alicesaid lightheartedly. _Should I be worried about this?_ I thought. It's just that she affected me so strongly. It's weird, I feel like I have changed, but vampires can't change. It's impossible. Bella was just… fascinating and now I can't hear her thoughts on top of that. _I know one thing for sure. I want Bella to be part of my existence. I want nothing more than to make her happy and see her beautiful smile light up her face._

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_**Review please.**_


	2. Chapter 2 Revealed

A/N- Here's another edited chapter:) I changed Bella's age because it was too hard for me to write a story when she was only ten.

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**Discovered**

Chapter 2 Revealed

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Alice and I were standing outside of Bella's house listening to her talk to Charlie excitedly about her party. And me. Bella was excited to see me again. Alice walked up to the door and pressed the doorbell, causing Bella to shriek excitedly followed by Charlie saying that she should get the door. I joined Alice on the little porch when I heard Bella behind the door, trying to unlock the deadbolt, but failing in her excitement. When she finally got it, the door swung open to reveal Bella in a dark blue party dress. A white ribbon tied around the waist of the dress and the skirt was light and flowed past her small hips like water, and as my eyes followed the flow of the skirt I looked down at Bella's feet and noticed the blue converse. I couldn't stifle my smile; she looked beautiful.

"Edward!" Bella squealed as she ran full force into me and latched her arms around my neck. I had to wonder if that had hurt her.

"Hello Bella. It's very nice to see you again. Shall we go in and help your dad set up for the party?"

"Yes, but first I want to show you around?" She asked, turning her face up toward me as her arms were still wrapped around me. Her head came up to my chest.

"Ok." I smiled, happy to be with her again, finally. I would happily do whatever she wanted to. It was her birthday after all. I moved to step inside with Bella when I was jolted out of my thoughts by a rather obvious cough. I turned to see Alice looking quite amused.

'Forgot about me, Edward?' she thought, raising an eyebrow and turning her smile on Bella.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Hello, I'm Bella and you're… Alice. Please come in." Bella said politely, almost warily. Alice's smile widened and she was hugging Bella before she could blink.

"Hi, Bella, I'm so glad to meet you. My brother couldn't stop talking about you when we got home from the mall yesterday. I couldn't help but get excited to meet you. I hear you're turning thirteen. We just turned fifteen a few months ago. Happy Birthday." Alice babbled, finally letting go of Bella when I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, thanks." Bella replied, looking more relieved after Alice's obvious excitement to meet her. Bella turned to hide her blushing cheeks and led us to the living room where Charlie pushed the furniture toward the walls and was now blowing up blue and white balloons.

"Daddy, Edward and Alice are here." Bella said to her father.

"Oh, good. I could use some help."

"Dad, can I show them my room first?" Bella asked Charlie.

"Sure Bell, just don't take too long. I need some help in here."

"Oh, I'll stay and help. I love decorating!" Alice chirped before swiping a hand full of balloons from the coffee table and sitting on the couch next to Mr. Swan. "Do you have any streamers?" Alice asked, waving us toward the stairs. 'Hurry, before he realizes he's letting his little girl go up to her room alone with a teenage boy.' Alice giggled in her mind, continuing her one sided conversation about party decorations with Charlie.

"Ok. Which way to your room?" I asked Bella. She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the stairs in reply. My hand tingled under her warm fingers. I barely noticed we were even moving until we stopped at a door and I could smell Bella's scent stronger than ever. It was a sweet smell; almost floral, and with the slightest trace of honey. It smelled like the warm honey-orange tea that my mother used to drink when I was just a child, I realized.

I inspected the door with a pink sign hung on the outside that had a chalk board on it. On the board in swirling, looped cursive was Bella's name. Bella noticed me looking at it.

"My mom gave me that for my birthday when I turned six. She sent it in the mail, all the way from Arizona. Isn't it pretty?"

"Yes," I said, turning to admire her blush, but kept the unsaid, 'but not as pretty as you Bella.' confined to my thoughts. Curiously, Bella's blush deepened and a fresh waft of her scent bloomed around us as her cheeks flushed a light pink.

Bella turned and quickly opened the door, as I smiled at her obvious embarrassment. Bella gestured around her room and sighed.

"Well, this is it." Bella turned back to me with a shy smile. I finally took my eyes off of her and looked around.

I was surprised at what I saw. Her room was not the collection of children's things I thought it would be. The room seemed almost that of a mature, young adult. She had a beautiful full sized bed, wrapped in a warm purple comforter. There was a small desk with a computer and writing tablet sitting atop it. Under the small window that overlooked her front yard, sat a bookshelf that was filled with books. Some looked to be for young adults and others were not. I saw Pride and Prejudice, among many other Jane Austin classics. _Unusual_...

I noticed also that she had a small wooden chest at the foot of her bed, atop of which was the doll I had bought for her yesterday. There were paintings on the wall of the views of the night sky from some point in the forest. They were brilliant and detailed. I looked at the corner of the paintings and saw a small set of initials in fine strokes of gold. All four paintings had the same initials- IMS. I think I noticed a painting of a man in rowboat fishing on a lake with the same initials above the fireplace downstairs. I couldn't help but wonder where Charlie had bought them. They were all so beautiful.

"Do you like them? I could make you one," Bella said from her seat at the foot of her bed, taking me off guard. _She cannot be serious. These are exquisite paintings, even better that some of those in the Louvre in Paris._

"You made these Bella? They're wonderful. How did you learn to paint like this?"

"Practice. I love to paint from the forest, and when the sky is clear for any amount of time, I like to paint that. Most people don't believe me when I tell them I painted them. It's just one of the many exceptional skills I've acquired." She said the last very softly. I knew I wasn't supposed to hear. _She is so perplexing_.

Bella hopped off her mattress and focused her attention on the chest at the end of her bed. She picked up the doll and took it's place on the trunk. I walked over to the bed and sat next to her.

"Did you decide on a name for her yet?" I said, changing the subject, while I occupied my hands with the sleeve of her doll's dress. Bella sat thinking. I started thinking how the doll kind of looked like Alice with its short dark hair, strait and flared out around her small porcelain face. The doll's face also reminded me of Rose's perfectly proportional, strait features.

"Alice Rose" Bella said quietly. I looked at her startled but snapped out of it when my phone rang. I looked down at the caller I.D.- _Alice_.

"Hello."

"That is so sweet Edward! You got her to name her doll after us." I could practically see her jumping up and down. Downstairs, Charlie's thoughts confirmed my assumption. Charlie smiled at her exuberance. I shook my head.

"No, I didn't." I said, then in vampire speed so Bella wouldn't catch it, "I need to talk to Carlisle as soon as I get home," before continuing in a normal speed, "We'll be down in a minute."

"Yes you will." Alice said before I shut the phone. Bella was silent, sitting with the doll in her lap.

"Why did you name it that, Bella?" I asked cautiously. _How had she named it after the two people I was just thinking of? Did she know I have two sisters? Maybe Charlie has met Rose while working with my dad? Oh what I would give to see into this girl's mind._

"Those are your sisters' names." Bella said, still looking down at her doll.

"Bella, did Charlie tell you? I mean your dad. Did your dad tell you about them?"

"No." Bella looked up and into my eyes. We didn't move for at least two minutes. I was running through other possibilities in my mind. I have no idea what she was thinking and it bothered me to no end.

"Why can't you hear me?"

"I can, Bella."

"No. I mean _hear_ me." Her eyes locked with mine. _Does she know?_ _How?_

"Yes… I know that you can do what I do. But you do it better. I only hear people that I am focusing on _really_ hard."

_Bella? Are you serious?_ I thought incredulously in my head.

"Yes. I can hear you Edward. Please don't be mad. I usually don't let anyone know. Charlie doesn't know either. I used to answer to his thought on accident. I don't know why, but Charlie doesn't think anything of it. He just thinks we have a strong parent-child bond, or something. I pay more attention now and I make sure he said it out loud before I say anything back. I just told you because you were like me. Kind of. You're still different, but I won't pry. I know that people need their privacy."

I sat stunned. She truly was the most interesting creature, but how had I not _known_.

"Edward, please say something." Bella pleaded before I could process everything. And with my mind, that's saying something. "_I shouldn't have told you._ I thought I could tell you and we would be friends, because I've never met anyone like me and it's kind of hard to be so different and make friends, and since we are both different I thought... I wouldn't be so alone anymore." Bella said, hastening as uncertainty rose in her.

"Bella, of course we can be friends. I was just a little stunned since I've never met anyone else who could do this either." _Especially a human_. I thought, and I instantly regretted it.

"Edward? Don't worry. I knew you were even _more_ different than I am. I am not scared of you. I don't know_… what_… you are and you don't have to tell me if you don't want. I can try not to listen to your thoughts if you want me to." She gasped quickly, refilling her empty lungs.

"Um, that would be a good idea. But," _I guess I'll tell you now so you can decide if you want to be my friend still, because I would love nothing more than to be your friend. _"Bella, I am a vampire."

Downstairs I heard Alice gasp. Charlie asked her what was wrong, and she replied with 'Nothing' before quickly saying to me in her most rapid speech, 'Edward, are you sure you know what you're doing?' I ignored her.

"Is that why you keep thinking of my 'scent' and you can hear my heart beating?" Bella asked me, only sounding curious.

"Yes."_ That_ was not the reaction I was expecting. I at least thought her first question would be 'What do you eat?' But here she is smiling at me, not running away.

"That's my second question, but I'm sure I already got my answer since you were hunting for elk in my back forest. I heard your thoughts about hunting and at first I thought you meant with a gun. Then you bit it and I knew you were… _different_. Now a lot of your earlier thoughts make more sense."

_I knew she'd figure it out sooner or later. I had no idea I had to guard my thoughts around her. It's a wonder that I never actually thought the word to myself at all. _

"And I wouldn't run away from you. Why would I, when I finally found someone who is more of a freak than me?" Bella said, laughing.

"Bella, you are not a freak. Other than the fact that you can read minds, and for some unexplainable reason I cannot read yours, you are perfectly normal."

"Oh Edward. You know so little about me. I have no friends at school because I _am too_ a freak. Everyone who is coming to my party is from the Quileute reservation because I grew up going there with my dad to his friend Billy's house. His son Jacob is the only friend I ever made on my own because I met him when we were both just babies. All of my other friends are from Jake because he introduced me to all of his friends. I seriously _can't_ make friends."

'Oh, that poor girl. Edward, tell her I'm her friend too! In fact, we'll be _best_ friends.' I heard Alice butt in from downstairs. Again, I ignored her.

"Of course you can Bella. You made friends with me."

"Yes, but you are a freak too." She said with a dim grin. "And... You still don't know just how much of a freak I am."

"Bella, I am a _Vampire_. Did you just forget? I doubt there is much you could say that would freak me out. But go ahead and tell me."

"Right… Well for starters, I am not going into the seventh grade like I'm supposed to be. When I started kindergarten I had already learned so much from reading people's thoughts, so they put me in the second grade. I could have gone higher, but I pretended to be a little dumber so that I wouldn't be too freakish. I was six and all of my classmates were eight or nine already."

"Bella, you are going into ninth grade? That is the grade that me and my sister Alice going to start at this year. When you start going to Forks High School, Alice and I will be in your grade. We were pretending to be home schooled until this school year begins."

"That is great! At least I will have _one_ friend who goes to school with me." She smiled, forgetting any previous sadness.

"No, you will have five. I have to introduce you to my family tonight." I smiled back, weirdly excited and feeling unusually happy.

"Ok. But why tonight?"

"Well, you know the Vampire thing? That is a secret that none of us are supposed to tell anyone. It's like the first rule of being a vampire, keep it a secret. Now that you know..."

"I promise I won't tell anyone Edward!" She nearly shouted; her eyes wide and sincere.

"I trust you. It's just that they need to know. It's dangerous for us to stay somewhere when someone knows our secret. And Bella it is extremely dangerous for you too. They have to meet you. I'm sure that they will like you though." I reassured her, when I noticed her expression become a bit wary.

"How can I do it tonight? My dad..."

'Oh my gosh! I've got this!' Alice shouted in her excitement, her speed making it hard for me to catch. I understood though when Alice started to talk to Charlie, exaggerating her hyper teenager act. 'So, Bella seems like the sweetest girl I've ever met. Me and her could totally become best friends. If only I had more time to get to know her. Oh, and she should meet my sister Rose! They'd totally hit it off, too! Oh my gosh, Mr. Swan, I just got the best idea! Tonight, after Bella's party can I take her to my house for a sleep over? My mom would love to meet her, I'm sure. Oh, and Esme just baked a bunch of her famous Double Marshmallow Choco-Chunk Cookies! If Bella came over tonight, she could bring a whole bunch back tomorrow! Can she please! Pretty please, with sugar on top?' Alice prattled, jumping up and down in sincere excitement. Charlie couldn't resist her smile, or the promise of cookies, and gave in almost instantly.

'Sure, that sounds like something she'd enjoy. On one condition… call me Charlie.' I watched through Alice's thoughts as he smiled at her indulgently.

"Don't worry about it. Alice just took care of it. Let's go help your dad so you can enjoy your party." I smiled wider, nearly showing my teeth, but not wanting to incite an instinctual fear response, I held back.

"Ok. Umm, I told you before that I can basically turn off my mind reading thing, so I'll let you have your privacy from now on, ok?" Bella asked sheepishly.

"Alright. How do you do that, by the way? That's something I can't do with mine."

"Well, it works weird. I can only hear the people I can focus on, and I have trained my brain to focus on up to ten people at once if I need to. But I can also change the volume in a way. I can turn one up real loud over the others when I focus on more than one or I can turn it down so low, it sounds almost too quiet to hear."

"Interesting." We were abandoning her doll now and heading back downstairs. As Bella started to step down the stairs, her foot slipped and she started to fall. I ran ahead of her and caught her before she had even gone down two steps.

"Wow. That was embarrassing. Thanks."

"No problem Bella. Your birthday wouldn't be much fun if you had broken your ankle."

"No it wouldn't have, Bells. Try to be more careful. Now are you two going to help me here or what?" Charlie said as he appeared in the living room.

"Ok, but first. Bella should get the door." I walked toward the living room, leaving Bella and Charlie confused at the foot of the stairs until Bella read the thoughts of the boy about to ring the doorbell. Charlie shook his head thinking_- Just like Bella- always answering the door before the bell even rings._

Charlie joined me back in the kitchen while Bella greeted her first guest- Jacob Black.

* * *

A/N- I decided Edward will tell Bella about vampires so quickly because he figures she will hear it in his thoughts anyway, because he is not used to having to guard his thoughts from anyone like his family does from him. Also he does not want to lose Bella after they just decided to become friends, and now that she is even _more_ interesting.

Oh, and here's a list of ages and grades they'll be in: (or what age they're pretending to be since someone has gotten confused before)

**Emmett:** 17 grade 10 (held back a grade)

**Rose:** 16 grade 10

**Jasper:** 16 grade 10

**Alice:** 15 grade 9

**Edward:** 15 grade 9

**Bella:** 13 grade 9 (skipped two grades)

**Jacob:** 12 grade 7 (the grade Bella should be in since Jake's only about 6 months younger than her)

REVIEW PLEASE!


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